Responsible Business Week concludes tomorrow

Business in the Community’s deputy managing director Lisa McIlvenna and Bronagh Luke, head of corporate marketing at Henderson Group

Responsible Business Week 2016 concludes on tomorrow, as companies across NI seek to increase awareness of the positive difference business makes to the economic, social and environmental challenges.

The the high-profile annual awareness week, coordinated by the charity Business in the Community, carries the theme ‘ideas for good get better when shared’.

Business in the Community said it is asking businesses to be more vocal in sharing how they are putting ideas into action to tackle pressing issues, from supporting employees and the future workforce, to investing in local communities.

Kieran Harding, managing director of Business in the Community Northern Ireland said: “Responsible Business Week is an opportunity to raise the profile of business as a force for good and give some much needed visibility to the positive difference business is making to our communities, environment and economy.

“By creating this space to share ideas that are working, we’re able to challenge and inspire many more organisations of all sizes to transform the way they do business by becoming more responsible towards their people, the planet and the places in which they operate.

“Trust in business is a challenge, but Responsible Business Week provides an opportunity to help business build dialogue with the public by being more transparent about how it does business.”

Bronagh Luke from The Henderson Group, owners of the SPAR franchise, explained why SPAR is supporting Responsible Business Week for the second year in Northern Ireland.

“Being responsible is at the very core of our organisation,” she said. “As a locally-grown, and ever expanding, business, it is really important that we demonstrate positive action through activities such as fundraising for our chosen charities through to continuing to divert 100 per cent of our waste from landfill.

“We’re also keen to help our employees have happier healthier lives by engaging in schemes like our 10,000 steps a day pedometer challenges. To date, 110 employees have completed more than 82 million steps. Most recently, we’ve worked hard with our local communities to get our defibrillator campaign up and running.

“We’re well on our way to meeting our target of installing more than 300 defibrillators outside stores across Northern Ireland. We’re encouraging businesses in Northern Ireland to get involved with #RBweek this year – sharing stories and inspiring others.”

Business in the Community are asking those involved in similar initiatives to share their story and be part of #RBweek. Toolkits and information are all available online at www.bitcni.org.uk.

To find out more about Responsible Business Week visit www.bitcni.org.uk or search for the hashtag #RBweek.